UK agency Dare makes inroads in US

UK-based digital agency Dare Digital is planning to expand into the US market with a New York office.

The company has hired James Cooper to begin the process of establishing its presence in the US. Cooper had served as a creative director at Dare Digital from 2005-2007. He moved to New York and spent a year at Another Anomaly before taking on this assignment from his former employer.

“Dare has hired James Cooper as our 'advance guard' in NY. He is meeting clients, talking to potential collaborators, maybe doing the odd small project in order to see what the market actually needs from Dare and what the best model is for delivering it,” said John Owen, planning partner at Dare, in an e-mail to DMNews. “We've got a point of view going in, but we're right at the start of this learning process and we are very much prepared to refine our thinking as we go. Until we have defined our positioning, worked out a clear business model and completed a business plan, we won't be formally launching. We're in Beta at the moment. We're very hopeful that this is the precursor to something magnificent.”

Dare's clients in the UK include Sony, BMW and Google. The US arm will be designated Dare New York.

Quebec City-based Cossette Communication Group acquired Dare in 2007. A request for comment to Cossette's New York offices was not returned by press time.